A Tendril of Magic
by Suiri
Summary: They were bound to meet again. Even if he's unaware of it. Sequel to "Cat for a Week"
1. prologue

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

**An**: I am so sorry! During a late night of editing, I got confused and accidentally replaced this chapter with another story. I lost the edited chapter and ended up deleting the fic to start over, so for everyone who had this saved or on alert you don't know how much I'm beating my head over this. Especially, since I have to retype eighty percent of this chapter.

**Warning: **English is not my first language, so please forgive me if they're any mistakes grammar or spelling wise. I'll try to catch as many as I can. The tone of this fic is much darker, too.

**Summary: **This is a short sequel to my other fic "Cat for a Week," Please check it out if you haven't yet.

* * *

><p><strong>A Tendril of Magic<strong>

**Prologue**

* * *

><p>Hilde once told him that his eyes made him look older than he really was. He had seen too much in the war and it showed sometimes in the way he tiredly looked at the world around him. His eyes had aged him. A few years down the road Duo will look back on that one moment and he will remember the expression on her face as she studied him. There was pity, sadness, an exasperated fondness because Duo vaguely remembers making a crack about gray hair.<p>

Duo would be the first to admit that he had been spoiled. The week he spent with Silver and the three years following afterwards when he had the other guys by his side made him accustomed to having other people around. Even after moving out of the safe-house and into his own humble abode, a little place in the middle of a scrapyard, Duo found that he couldn't sleep soundly in an empty house.

The lack of movement and the silence bothered him.

When Hilde decided to move in, a part of him was relieved. He had never slept better than on the first night when he drifted to sleep to the sound of her unpacking in the room next to his. Hilde had been his salvation. Hilde was his rock. When everything else sank around him, she was the only thing keeping him afloat.

She had breakfast waiting for him. It was four in the morning and Duo still has blood on him when he arrived home. His clothes was stained with sweat, dirt, a whole host of other things he tried not to think about as he favored his left leg, limping into the kitchen. He smells as bad as he look. The odor of smoke and burning metal clung to him. It would probably take days of scrubbing before it fade, but to Hilde's credit she never batted an eye. She took the seat across the kitchen table as Duo slumped into one of the kitchen chairs with a tired slouch. Hilde set a plate in front of him and Duo practically inhaled the meal in a couple of rapid bites.

"How did it go?" she asked.

Duo gave her a winning smile.

"Of course it went well," she muttered under her breath. Duo's self-confidence was about as big as the moon. The word humble wasn't even in his vocabulary. He could tell from her expression that she didn't know whether to find it charming or annoying as she grabbed for the first aid kit.

Duo never realized that, in the middle of getting his wounds treated, he had nodded off peacefully.

That moment in his kitchen was the last good memory he had before everything shot to hell. If he had known what was going to happen, he might have burned that memory a little deeper into his brain.

**...  
><strong>

The comm by his ear cracked to life.

_"Maxwell? What's going on? Where the hell are you?"_

"Kinda busy right now, Wu-man," Duo wheezed. The string of annoyed swear words in his ear was ignored as he scrambled through the twisted, unfamiliar territory of the Louisiana swamp. He heard the sounds of his pursuers right behind him and it spurred him to go faster through the thick bristles of foliage and bushes.

Duo flinched every time his boots hit the puddles with a noisy splash. Wet vines slapped at his face and he felt swamp water rolled down the back of his shirt to mingle in with the cold sweat he felt breaking out. Bullets whizzed by him. It was a miracle that he hadn't been hit so far, but some of the smaller branches of the old trees explodes on the impact. The wood became like shrapnel, slicing at his face and clothing. He ignored the stings as he hopped and jumped his way over fallen logs and tree stumps. Duo never noticed the upturned tree root until he tripped over it. He lurched wildly forward, off-balance, and he fell head first into the murky waters.

He cursed through a mouthful of swamp grass.

Realizing that he didn't have a choice, Duo yanked the comm out of his ear and he jammed it into the mud. Wufei's thin voice was garble, then lost as it was swallowed in the bayou. Seconds later, Duo was hauled to his feet when his chasers caught up. They cuffed his hands together and began intrusively patting him down.

"Hands!" Duo protested. He cringed when his privates was grabbed roughly in the search. They confiscated his Bible, his Maxwell special, and his weapon. With a jab into his back as a warning, Duo was escorted out of the swamp at gun point.

There was an armored truck waiting on the outside.

Right before he was shoved into the back, Duo allowed the pendent he had saved from Silver's collar to fall to the ground. He subtly kicked it underneath the truck.

"Get in," one guard ordered. With a cocky grin, Duo did as he was told. He climbed in and the door slammed shut.

The entire back of the truck was windowless. In the dim light cast by the one bulb, he kept searching for an escape route or an opportunity. The only exit was bolted tight and his captors watched his every move with unwavering blank stares. Glumly, Duo settled himself against the wall. He wasn't looking forward to Heero's death glare or Wufei's 'Are you an idiot?' lecture when he gets rescued.

"Let me guess, we're going to Disney land?" he quipped.

He got a 'shut-up or we'll gag you,' in return.

No one in White Fang seem to have a sense of humor.

The only thing that made the long, boring ride entertaining was the guards flinching as their noses was assaulted. Nothing quite took the sting out of a situation like the smell of the swamp festering in the small, heated space. The odor rose from Duo's wet clothes and it hung in the air like a petulant fart. The guards practically spilled out the back in relief when the truck finally stopped with a jolt hours later.

Duo only managed to catch a quick glimpse of cold gray stones before he was hustled into the White Fang headquarters.

**...  
><strong>

For the first few days, they did nothing. They sat him down in a small white-washed sterile room that had nothing but a table and a chair. His interrogators threw question after question at him as they deprived him of food and sleep.

_'Who are you?' _

They threw the fake id that had been tucked into his Bible on the table.

_'We know your name isn't Jack Dawkins. What's your real name? Who do you work for? Where is your base? How many of you are there?'_

Jokingly telling them that he was from Krypton got him a punch in the face. When it became clear that he wasn't going to answer anything willingly or truthfully, they resorted to more drastic measures.

Duo was escorted to the part of the building that smell heavily of blood.

**...  
><strong>

He had been beaten, threatened, and drugged. He had his fingers snapped one by one, his nails pried and pulled, and his skin torched until the smell of burning flesh made everyone in the room sick. It took days to expel the water from his lungs from the water boarding.

There was a brief respite between the more vicious torture when they allowed him to heal in his holding cell. They didn't want him dying prematurely before they got what they want. As soon as he was well enough to continue, everything would begin again.

The guards who had to dragged him back to his cell grudgingly respected him.

"You've got a lot of gumption, kid," one fatherly looking guard said. "I would have given up by now."

Duo grinned through his split lips as he hung limply in their hold.

The next day, they hung him by the arms from the ceiling. They flogged him raw until there wasn't any skin left on his back and all he did was just grin as his captors grew more frustrated at his silence. Even if he had to bite off his own tongue, he would never give up any information about the gundams or the other pilots. Duo stubbornly refused to talk. Through the one eye that wasn't swollen shut, he watched carefully. He heard them whisper to each other as they debated on their next move.

**...  
><strong>

They held a gun to some innocent girl's head.

Duo doesn't think the girl was more than eighteen. She had a spring of curly brown hair and big brown eyes that were currently wide and fearful. She trembled as the safety latch was released. Her eyes pleaded with Duo.

_I don't want to die, _her expression said. _Please save me._

_'Who are you?_ _Who do you work for? Where is your base? How many of you are there?'_ They asked. '_You have to answer or this girl will die.' _

Duo hesitated.

The trigger goes off and her body pitches forward, falling into a bloody mess on the ground. Her head was turned up and he could see her eyes sightlessly stared at him.

In a sad, twisted way, Duo understood Heero now. Just like how Heero could never forget the little girl and her dog he had buried beneath the rubble, Duo will never forget the girl he had just sentenced to death. He will never forget the elderly man who followed her or the little kid who looked painfully like Solo.

The Interrogators finally realized that Duo would never talk.

But what do with an uncooperative gundam pilot who might still have some value?

**...  
><strong>

He was woken from his cot in the middle of the night. They hustled him down the hall and through several corridors. He was taken down a flight of stairs until they finally reached an old door. Through it and around the corner was his new home.

They tossed him into a solitary prison somewhere underground. The clanging sound of the cell's bar-door closing echoed and he was left alone in complete darkness.

He reached out a hand and blindly made his way around carefully, trying to gauge the dimension. The stones of the walls were bitingly cold beneath his palms, but he managed to work his way around until he hit the metal bars again. Eleven by nine. It was a little bigger than the cell he had before. He gave the bars one shake, but the metal rods held firmly, anchored to the ground below.

"Trying to wait me out, huh," he muttered. His voice echoed around him. He spoke louder. "It's not going to work!"

He doesn't know if anyone could hear him.

Duo took a seat in the dark and he waited.


	2. Part I

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon or the little bit of Harry Potter I threw in.

**An**: Again, I'm really sorry for having to repost this fic and I'm sorry for the late update. Geez, this New Years isn't off to a good start so far. I hope to do better. Thanks for reading.

**Warning: **English is not my first language, so please forgive me if they're any mistakes grammar or spelling wise. I'll try to catch as many as I can.

**Summary: **This is a sequel to "Cat for a Week."

* * *

><p><strong>A Tendril of Magic<strong>

**Part I  
><strong>

* * *

><p>He has been in the dark for so long he has become accustomed to it. The only source of light came whenever the doors open and lunch arrived. Around the corner, a burst of white would come through and like a moth, he clambered to it. He drew to it and ignored the rust underneath his palms as he grabbed at the bars of his cell.<p>

When the footsteps grew closer, Duo squinted his eyes. The young guard that was delivering his food was new. The blond hair underneath the cap was bright. The new guard gave a small smile as the food was slip underneath the slot of Duo's cell. Unlike the other guard who normally left and came back later to pick up the tray, this one lingered around and waited.

The abrupt change in routine made Duo wary.

He kept an eye on the blond as he forced himself to swallow every last bite of that tasteless gruel.

"How are you?" the guard asked softly.

Duo gave him an incredulous stare. "I'm a prisoner. How do you think I'm doing?"

The guard winced. He fiddled with a girly looking pink pen in his front pocket and Duo was willing to bet that the guy got ribbed a lot by the other guards. He looked like the type to get bullied. Duo felt kind of like a douchebag when he saw the crestfallen look on the guard's face. This guard had one of those faces, the kind that when a bad word was said to him he'd look as if his puppy was murdered in front of him.

"I'm fine," Duo mumbled an answer.

"You're not hurt?" the guard asked. His eyes scanned over Duo with concern. Again, he fiddled with that pen.

"No."

At least, not physically. There was still judgment out on his mental state. Duo slid the empty tray out and he watched as the guard collected it. The guard turned to leave.

"Hey." There was something familiar about the guy that nagged at Duo. He felt as if they had met before. "What's your name?"

"Usako, " the guard answered.

After he was gone, Duo couldn't shake off the feeling that something important had just happened.

**...  
><strong>

_Shortly after he met Usako, Duo began to dream about Silver. She was there, perched on his shoulder; a comfortable weight on his left. _

_"Don't worry," she said. "Everything is going to be okay. You'll see."_

_She hunched slightly. She looked as if the weight of the world was resting on her tiny frame. Reflected in her eyes, Duo saw Japan go up in flames. He saw Tokyo under-siege by monsters and he saw Silver in the middle of it, caught in the chaos. _

_The images honestly doesn't make much sense. But then again, this was a dream. Hell, Silver was talking. Nothing made any sense. Duo did what he's always done when he found himself in a situation that he couldn't quite grasp. _

_He went with the flow. _

"_I can only visit you a little bit each day just to check up," Silver continued. "but I promise. You're not alone." _

_She nuzzled him one final time before she vanished. _

**...  
><strong>

Usako was the one who brought him his meal the next day. Usako delivered it again the day after that and the day after that. The blond seem to be on permanent 'feed the prisoner' duty. It was probably a good judgment call by the higher-ups. Usako seemed like the type to get easily freaked in battle. He was like a nervous jack rabbit and Duo couldn't imagine the slender blond out on the field in the middle of the war. Usako was already spooked just standing outside the cell, gingerly looking around for the rats. The blond nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw something scurry by his feet.

Some people just weren't meant for combat.

Usako was a funny guy. Aside from the girly name, the guard was unlike any White Fang soldier Duo had ever met. Usako was cheerful, kind, gentle. He was also the biggest klutz. More often than not, thanks to a trip or a stumble, Duo's food usually ended up on Usako then in his belly.

Duo bonded with the guard against his better judgement. It was hard not to when the guy sincerely did what he could to make sure that Duo was comfortable.

The blond had been both a blessing and a curse. While the guard brought a certain fresh air presence to Duo's otherwise monotonous life, the moment he left the air was more oppressive.

When he left, the silence was more deafening.

**...  
><strong>

_Silver looked worn. She laid on Duo's shoulder and soaked in his warmth. _

"_Aren't you suppose to be comforting me?" Duo joked. He stroked the fur behind her ears as she raised a tired head. _

_Again, through some strange connection, Duo was able to see the world through her eyes.  
><em>

"_It's getting bad out there, isn't it?" he asked. He couldn't get rid of the images of bodies after bodies piling up as monsters slowly drained their energy. _

"_There are more and more youmas each day. We can barely keep up," Silver said remorsefully. She looked exhausted beyond relief. _

_Her ears flopped. _

**...  
><strong>

"You don't look so good," Duo told Usako when he saw him. Usako looked gaunt. The blond has always been a slender kid, but now it was borderline creepy how thin the guard was. His cheeks were sunken in, his hair was thinning, and the bags under his eyes was a dark purple. It contrasted against skin so pale that Duo could see the veins even in the dim lighting.

Usako looked a hairbreadth from collapsing.

Duo wondered what the hell White Fang does with the kid to get him this close to death.

He felt a slight pressure in his head and he rubbed his temple to get rid of the headache. He looked up in time to see Usako grimacing and holding his own head.

Duo advised Usako to go get some rest. He ignored the part of this brain that was screaming about the fact that he was concern for the enemy.

Usako nodded.

The guard grabbed the tray and rounded the corner.

Once again, Duo braced himself for the darkness.

**...  
><strong>

_Duo watched as Tokyo began to crumble bit by bit. The soldiers, girls in the different colored skirts, fought hard. They were battered and bruised, but every time they were knocked off their feet, they gritted their teeth and got back up again. _

_Duo admired their tenacity. _

_They fought valiantly, but they were being pushed back. The monsters were slowly gaining ground. _

_It wasn't just Tokyo. It was all around the world. Everywhere from England where hooded phantoms tormented people to America where people were being torn apart by the things that lurked in the dark. _

"_Is the world ending?" Duo asked Silver.  
><em>

"_I'm not sure," she looked weary._

_The shadows around them grew larger. _

**...  
><strong>

Duo jolted up from his cot.

The sweat dripped from his brows as he struggle to breathe. He ran a hand through his tangled hair.

"It's just a dream," he muttered to himself.

He kept telling himself that for the rest of the day.


	3. Part II

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon or 'I am Legend' that I reference briefly.

**An**: I was inspired, so this part came out a lot sooner than expected. Enjoy. A special thanks to HTchime for correcting me on a typo.

**Warning: **English is not my first language, so please forgive me if they're any mistakes grammar or spelling wise. I'll try to catch as many as I can.

**Summary: **This is a small sequel to "Cat for a Week." It takes place three years after they parted.

* * *

><p><strong>A Tendril of Magic<strong>

**Part II**

* * *

><p>There were times Duo swore he could hear the ocean. All he had to do was listen carefully enough. If he was lucky he might feel a gentle breeze or the sensation of the sun warming on his skin. For those brief moments, he was free. He was at peace. The dream never lasted long. The sounds of the rats always broke through and he would be sent back to reality with a jerk.<p>

Duo rubbed his throbbing head.

"Headache again?" Usako asked. The guard slid the meal underneath the slot. Duo grabbed the tray and he grimaced when he saw the gruel.

"Nothing I can't handle." Duo watched the blond carefully as he ate. He noticed that Usako seemed distracted. "Everything ok?"

"Everything is fine," Usako said brightly. Duo could spot the lie from a mile away. He doesn't push the issue. There are just some things that were too personal to tell another person.

"Do you believe in monsters?" he asked instead.

"Monsters?" Usako asked.

"I met one once," Duo flashed back to the half-snake half human creature he had the misfortune of coming across a few years before. "They're real."

If it wasn't for the claw marks on his shoulder and the other pilots, Duo would have thought he had dreamed the whole thing. The memory came to him last night, but it was blurred and fragment. He doesn't remember much from that time other than the fact that it was raining and that he and the other pilots were getting their asses handed to them.

All he remembered clearly was that for months afterward, every time something moved out of the corner of his eye, he jumped.

"Yes, I believe in monster," Usako said.

The blond nodded firmly. He noticed something about Duo and grew alarmed. A hand reached through the bars to touch Duo's forehead.

"You're burning up!" he exclaimed. "Your face is turning red!"

Duo leaned into that cool hand.

It lessened a bit of the headache.

**...  
><strong>

_They lost Tokyo to the monsters. The girls had no choice, but to pull back. Duo could see the pain on their faces as they retreated nearby to Junbangai to plan their next attack. They supported one another as they headed to their base which doubled as a hospital to treat the wounded. _

_Duo recognized the short-haired girl wearing the scrubs. 'Nurse' looked drawn. She goes from one patient to the next and her shoulders sag when some don't make it.  
><em>

"_Ami! Incoming!" _

_'Nurse' looked up. A wave of injured bodies began pouring in, all refugees from Tokyo. Several doctors that were on hand quickly took action. They grabbed the most severe patients and frantically began to work. _

"_Will he make it?" Duo asked Silver. He looked down at a little boy who 'Nurse' was trying to save. The child was covered in so much blood that there wasn't an inch on him that wasn't colored red. His small hands grabbed onto the sheets. His knuckle turned white with the strain. Despite 'Nurse' and another assistant's attempt to hold him down, the boy jerked. His entire body spasms before it goes still. _

_'Nurse' aged ten years. There wasn't any time to mourn. There were others who still had a chance that needed attention. She had to moved on.  
><em>

_Duo stayed by the boy. _

_It was tough to see the boy lying so calmly. He looked as if he was just sleeping. This is what war did, Duo thought bitterly. It makes causalities and usually it's the innocent ones that get hurt. _

_Silver tried her best to comfort him as they stood there. _

**...  
><strong>

"Maybe it's better if the world ends," Duo muttered feverishly. He could barely lift his head. With the little lift that he could managed, he saw a worried Usako outside his cell. In an amusing sort of way, with the light behind the kid, Duo thought Usako looked a lot like an angel. "Forget it. It's the fever talking."

Wufei had always complained that Duo was a grouch when he was sick. When he wasn't feeling well, Duo was often melodramatic and sad. The only thing that perked him up was that he always had one of the guys or Hilde to watch over him. Now he had no one.

He saw Usako's hands twitter anxiously. The guard was unsure of what to do.

"I don't have the key," Usako said regretfully.

"I know," Duo shrugged. He doesn't blame Usako.

"You're a good kid," he said. In the time that he had been here, the kindness that Usako had shown him was enough for him to believe in the good of the world again.

Lying back, Duo really wished Quatre was here. He could really use a familiar face to help him ride through the fever.

He must have said it out, because Usako gave him nod. The blond grabbed the girly pink pen he always carries. He said a few whispered words and suddenly a rainbow of light washed over the prison.

Duo had to shield his eyes.

When he opened it, he saw Quatre smiling gently outside the cell. Even though it was a dream, Duo took comfort when he saw his friend and fellow pilot.

He fell asleep in mid talk as Quatre watched over him.

**...  
><strong>

_The world was ablaze. _

_Everything around him was on fire, but all Duo felt was the cold. He felt chills go down his spine when he saw things move in the shadows and in the alleyways; horrible things that growl and have glowing red eyes. The sound of crunching bones and dripping liquid resonate in the air around him. Duo doesn't even want to think about what the creatures are munching on. _

_He walked around with Silver in his arms. _

_They were in the ghettos of what once was a busy business district. It was now reduced to nothing but rubble. Cars were overturned and the dust lingered in the air like thin fog. He stepped over broken concrete and twisted steel. There were blood stains splattered everywhere, but no bodies. _

_What was probably the most eerie is the silence. _

_Duo doesn't hear a single human made noise. _

_He has the bad mental image of a zombie movie he saw once, the one where a scientist was the last man living on earth. _

"_Those things...they wouldn't happen to be humans turned into monsters, are they?" he asked. "Do I have to worry about catching a disease and turning into one of them?" _

"_They were monsters from the beginning," Silver blinked. "They were never human." _

_Somehow, hearing the answer doesn't make him feel any better. _

**...  
><strong>

When Duo woke, it was lunch time again. He could hear Usako rattling the tray. His thoughts were sluggish and his limbs feels heavy. When he coughs, it was violent and it has that raspy wet sound. He managed to leaned to the side of the bed to spit out the phlegm.

Duo smelled the rancid odor of his breath.

Forget escaping, he'd settle for a toothpaste and a toothbrush right about now.

"Are you feeling any better?" the guard ask.

Duo grimaced.

His face said it all.

He laid back on the cot. "Keep talking will you?" he asked.

"Talk about what?" Usako questioned.

"Anything." The guard could talk about the weather for all Duo cared. He just doesn't want to hear the silence any longer. The vision of that decrepit, desolated world was still fresh in his head.

Usako's voice finally spoke after a long thoughtful moment. When the blond spoke, he told the story about a Moon Kingdom that existed a thousand years ago.

'A bed time story,' he thought. Usako was telling him a bed time story. Somehow that doesn't surprise him.

Duo allowed the guard's gentle voice to wash over him.

That was how he fell asleep.

He closed his eyes to the image of a prince and princess dancing to a waltz as the earth loomed in the sky above them.


	4. Part III

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

**An**: I am so sorry, it took so long. I had the biggest writer's block.

**Warning: **English is not my first language, so please forgive me if they're any mistakes grammar or spelling wise. I'll try to catch as many as I can.

**Summary: **This is a small sequel to "Cat for a Week." It takes place three years after they parted.

* * *

><p><strong>A Tendril of Magic<strong>

**Part III**

* * *

><p>Usako meant well when he brought in the stuff bunny. When he held it out to a sick Duo, he beamed. "His name is Mamo-chan."<p>

Duo stared at the pink bunny.

"Mamo-chan has always comforted me when I need him," Usako continued. "I'll lend him to you until you feel better."

The guard held the bunny tenderly. It was probably a gift from someone important. It was obvious by the way Usako held it reverently that it was something the blond treasured deeply. It was a prized possession and he was selflessly offering it to Duo.

"Er..." Duo didn't know what to say. He wanted to thank Usako for the kind thought, but what grown man (Usako aside) sleeps with a stuff animal just because he was sick? Duo really wanted to turn it down.

"Thanks," he mumbled instead. He couldn't say no when Usako looked at him with those eyes. Reaching out, he took the bunny into his hand. Underneath his fingers, the plush felt soft and comfortable. The faint scent of sunflowers and clean linen waffled from it.

With his new sleeping partner, Duo stumbled back to bed, exhausted. He was lucky he hadn't keel over for the few moments he had been up on his feet. His fever may have gone down slightly, but he still wasn't fully recovered.

He slump heavily onto the cot and brought the bunny to his cheek as a makeshift pillow.

"Good night, Duo," Usako whispered.

**...  
><strong>

_For once he didn't dream of monsters or a post-apocalyptic world, but what he did dream about made him wished he did. _

_Duo watched as the church burned down. _

_He heard the screams of terror coming from inside. He saw Father Maxwell rushing into the burning building in a desperate attempt to save the children. Sister Helen's figure was right behind. The flap of her black and white dress disappeared through the smoking doorway. _

_Duo opened his mouth to bellow out a warning. The only sound he could managed was a strangled cry. He fell to his knees at the same moment the church fell to the ground in a flaming rubble. _

"_Oh God," he hyperventilated. _

_When he caught his breath back, anger bitterly coursed through him. He pounded the ground in fury. His hand hit the gravel over and over again. _

_Silver was there. She nuzzled his side and mummer something to him. Not in his right frame of mind, Duo shoved her aside roughly. _

_His push sent her flying._

_Her yelp was what brought him back from the maddened fog. Horrified, Duo gathered her up into his arms and buried his face into her fur. "I'm sorry." _

_He kept apologizing over and over again. _

**...  
><strong>

When Duo woke, the bunny is sadly crush in his fist.

**...  
><strong>

_In the next dream, Duo was relieved to see nothing but a white void. There was nothing in this world, but him and Silver. _

_The forgiveness in her eyes made him crumble. _

_Duo feels dirty and unworthy of her kindness. How could something as pure as Silver look at him without being disgusted? Couldn't she see that he wasn't worth the affection? His hands are stained with the blood of the people he killed and no amount of scrubbing will ever wash it off. _

_When she took a step closer, Duo took a step back. _

_She looked hurt as he rejects her, but he was doing this for her sake. Nothing good can come from hanging around a murderer like him. _

_Duo turned and walked away. _

**...  
><strong>

He was wrong. He thought that the fever was subsiding, but in the second round it came back worst than the first. His entire body dripped in sweat. Strands of his braid was matted to his head and his eyes rolled back in their socket as he arched from the bed.

In his hallucinations, he began ripping out his own hair.

He saw Father Maxwell, Sister Helen, and Solo staring at him, urging him to do his penance for failing them.

His fingers clawed their way down his arms, leaving a dark trail of blood behind.

"Goddamn it, Maxwell!"

Hands, a lot of them, held him down.

Duo looked beyond Wufei to Solo.

_'Don't let him stop you,' Solo ordered._

Drawing a hand back, Duo belted Wufei in the face as hard as he could. He headbutts Heero and kicks Trowa in the knees when they tried to interfere.

"I'm really sorry about this, Duo," Quatre apologized.

A small fist came towards him with lightening speed and Duo fell backwards.

'I forgot about his left hook,' Duo thought.

He blacked out in Heero's arms.

When he woke, it was to the motion of a moving car. His head was on Wufei's shoulder and Quatre was holding his hand. Heero and Trowa were in the front with Heero at the steering wheel. The Wing Zero pilot looked up at the rear view mirror and noticed that Duo was awake.

Trowa was the one who spoke for all of them.

"Welcome back, Duo."

Quatre pressed something into his hand.

When Duo looked down he noticed the pendent of Silver's collar in his palm.

The sight of that gleaming metal made the tears well up in his eyes. He startled everyone in the car when he lets out a wail and clung to Quatre.

The warmth that the blond gave off proved that this wasn't a dream.

He was finally free.


	5. Part IV

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

**An**: Thanks for reading.

**Warning: **English is not my first language, so please forgive me if they're any mistakes grammar or spelling wise. I'll try to catch as many as I can.

**Summary: **This is a small sequel to "Cat for a Week."

* * *

><p><strong>A Tendril of Magic<strong>

**Part IV**

* * *

><p>Three years...that's how long he had been missing. Duo closed his eyes as he struggled to adjust to the news. He sensed Quatre's comforting presence at his bedside while the rest of the guys lingered outside the door. He doesn't have to be a genius to know that everyone had pretty much left the bad news up to Quatre who tried to be as gentle as he could. There was a sedative on the nightstand in case Duo got hysterical.<p>

"Three years?" he asked. He hoped he had heard wrong the first time.

"Three years," Quatre confirmed. Three years...a lot had changed in that time. There wasn't any White Fang or Oz or war with the Colonies. Rebels and ex-soldiers now fought beside each other on the battlefield. Apparently, nothing united the human race more than an alien invasion and the possibility of the extinction of all mankind.

Duo could have choked on the frustration and bitterness.

There wasn't any god damn war...what was the point in him being a prisoner all this time? The rage he felt bubbling in him was soothed when Quatre reached out and touched his hand. Duo felt a sense of calmness flow through him. His body grew lax and his mind was clearer as the anger ebbed away.

"I really hate it when you do that," he muttered.

Quatre just gave him an angelic smile.

He listened as Quatre's gentle voice continued. The more he heard the more he felt incredibly sorry for himself for all the things he had missed. Relena was now the regiment queen of the world. There was an underground resistance group of humans that were fighting the creatures. Wufei got married.

"Her name is Sally Po," Quatre showed Duo a photo of a beautiful young blond next to Wufei. "You'll probably meet her later."

Duo snickered at the height difference.

It's the first time he's laugh in a long while.

**...  
><strong>

_Silver never appeared in his dreams again after he walked away from her. He doesn't have any more dreams about his past either (something he was grateful for), but he still has visions.  
><em>

_He couldn't do anything for the young girl being strangled by the monster. It was the girl in the green sailor skirt. He called her 'Lightening,' because most of her attacks seem to be lightening base. Maybe he should call her 'Green' because he had never seen green eyes brighter than hers. Her irises were full-blown and bugged out as her hands tried to pry the monster's grip from her neck. _

_Duo admired the girl in blue and white. She was his favorite and he called her 'Bunny' because he had never seen anyone hop faster than she did when a monster came towards her. Her slim legs were built for running which she seem to do every time he saw her. _

_Usually she was running away, but this time, in a show of bravery, she ran to the monster and tackled it. The monster let go of 'Green' in surprise. Bunny and the monster went down together and Duo poetically thought that the streams of Bunny's blond hair that sprung from the bun on each side of her head was like bright ribbons. _

"_Sailor Moon!" 'Green' croaked. She was pulled away by the girl dressed in orange.  
><em>

_The girl dressed in red and the masked man in the tuxedo jumped into the fight. _

_For the first time in a long while, Duo watched as his dream ended happily. _

_The girls managed to destroy the monster. _

**...  
><strong>

Hilde visited him. She was the one person Duo wanted to see the most. She walked in hesitantly and the other guys made themselves scarce as she took a seat by the bed.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Good."

There was a sense of awkwardness that wasn't there before. So much time had passed and the one thing Duo had been wary of had happened. They had become strangers. Hilde looked fidgety and Duo looked at the ring on her left hand with a blank stare.

"Is he a good guy?" he asked.

Her expression softened. "Yeah, he is."

Duo reached out and took her hand. As outspoken as he was, Duo still found it hard to express his feelings. He squeezed her hand and suddenly the awkwardness wasn't there anymore. Hilde, like she's always done, was able to read him.

She took his blessing with watery eyes and a sad smile.

After she was gone, Duo grabbed the vase and flung it at the door with a loud bellow.

**...  
><strong>

_They were exhausted. How much longer could they last? The whole world was depending on these sleep deprived, tired superheroes who dragged themselves forward after another hard-fought battle.  
><em>

_In the little time that they had to rest, they were sprawl in what looked like a spacious apartment. The girls slept on the floor with blankets and pillows. In the only bedroom, which was given to Bunny, the guy in the tuxedo and mask sat by the bed and held her hand tenderly. He watched over her as she slept.  
><em>

_The building suddenly shook violently around them. _

_One of the girls burst into the room. _

"_Youmas!" _

_The man was quick to shake Bunny awake. _

_When they ran out into the halls, there were frantic people racing in all directions. 'Green' and the tiny dark hair girl he dubbed 'Purple' for the color she wore, tried to calm the crowd down and motioned towards the exits. _

"_Not the elevators!" 'Red' called. She frantically raced towards the small group, but she was too late. The door closed in front of her face. There was the sound of crunching metal as a monster broke through the top vent and Duo flinched at the screams._

"_No time, Mars," A tall, boyish blond said. "Let's go!" _

_A woman with curly teal hair led a small group of survivors down the stairs. She did an elegant round house kick and knocked one creature down several flights. _

_The building shook again. It almost knocked everyone off their feet. _

_In the middle of the crowd, Duo saw Bunny. She was safe inside the protective arms of the guy in the mask. _

_She had her hands on her stomach and she looked terrified. _

_That's when Duo finally noticed the budge of her belly. _

"_You're pregnant," he said in disbelief. _

_More screams. _

_'Red', 'Purple', and the boyish blond who brought up the rear braced themselves when the onslaught of monsters finally noticed and surged after them. _

"_Run," Duo urged. _

_He reached out and was stun to find out that he could feel her beneath his fingers. He had never been able to touch anything in his dreams until now. _

_When he touched her, their eyes locked. _

_Behind her eyes, Duo saw the world as it would be in the future. He saw a world made of ice and crystals. It's a world of death and silence. _

"_Silver..." he breathed. _

_It seems impossible, but from the moment he touched her, he felt a familiar current go through him. One he hadn't felt in six years. They had separated at the safe house for the first three years and the last three because he had been imprisoned. _

_He trusted his gut instinct. It was yelling at him that this girl (as improbable as it was) was Silver. _

_The panic of the crowd pushed her forward and Duo and the guy she was with fought hard to keep her upright. _

"_Run," he urged again. _

_She had to get to somewhere safe. _

_He woke before he could say anything else. _

**...  
><strong>

He went back to the White Fang headquarters a week later. Call it curiosity or a weird sense of closure, but he had to see for himself if what the other pilots told him was true.

He'd lost three fucking years of his life to this place...

The deserted headquarter was eerily quiet as Duo and the guys made their way around the building. Eventually, they ended up in a small office that belonged to one of his interrogators.

Heero was the one who found the logs twenty-minutes later tucked in the back of a filing cabinet. The last entry noted that a month after Duo was thrown underground, the compound had to be abandoned because of a report that warned about a wave of monsters that were heading that way. His captors had taken off, leaving Duo unaware that he had been alone and stranded for the last couple of years.

It was ironic.

During the times where he had felt like the very last person on the face of the earth, he had been close to the truth. He had been the only living thing in this stone fortress for two years.

Duo went down to his cell and the guys trailed behind him.

Then what about Usako? Duo remembered the guard visiting him as early as a day before he was rescued. If everyone had bailed out on the place years before, then where had the blond come from?

"Your imagination," Heero said blandly.

"Then how am I still here?" Duo argued. "Who brought me my meals?"

"There's a drip from the ceiling. You got water from there," Wufei suggested. There were dead rats scattered everywhere. The Chinese pilot mentioned that Duo might have gotten his nutrients from feasting on them.

Duo turned green at the thought.

"You guys didn't find a pink bunny with me, did you?" Duo asked.

The other pilots gave him a strange look.

"I'll take that as a no," Duo rubbed the back of his head. He searched around the cell just in case, but found nothing.

He asked Trowa to check the employee pay roll before they left and Trowa told him there wasn't anyone named Usako on the list.

"My imagination, huh?" Duo muttered.

Usako was just someone he conjured up during his time alone, after all.

**...  
><strong>

_Tuxedo guy died. _

_He took the blunt of the attack, so that Bunny would remained safe. He fell into her arms and her white dress and her fingers was stained with his blood. Behind them the monster was destroyed, but all she was focus on was the stilled body. _

_"Mamo-chan?" she begged.  
><em>

_The anguish on her face was hard to witness. _

_The other girls were gathered around her, but she never noticed them. She couldn't see passed the grief she felt. When she looked up to the sky, she screamed. Her wails grew louder and louder and Duo got a bad feeling as the wind suddenly picked up. _

_The dark clouds rolled in. _

_The girls exchanged uneasy looks. _

_Bunny...no, she was Silver... Silver began to glow. There was a white light that sparked from her body. The air crackled around her. One violent, invisible push came from Silver and the sheer power of it flung all the girls back a few feet. _

"_Usagi!" they cried. _

_Silver just tightened her grip on her dead lover. Slowly, her hair began to darken and her eyes changed from that kind, cornfield blue to a phantom like onyx. A massive black vortex appeared below her and she sank into it like it was quick sand. _

_Duo frantically ran towards her. _

"_Silver!" _

_He thought he saw her eyes clear for a moment, but then it shuttered closed. By that time her body was already submerged shoulder deep in the black ripples. _

_Duo leap forward. _

_Some kind of force threw him backwards and he landed on his ass. _

_Silver sank into that black sand trap and disappeared. The vortex vanished as if it had never been there. While the other girls panicked, Duo just stare at the spot where she use to be. _


	6. Part V

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

**An**: Its been a while. Sorry for the wait.

**Warning: **English is not my first language, so please forgive me if they're any mistakes grammar or spelling wise. I'll try to catch as many as I can. The tone of this fic is much darker, too.

**Summary: **This is a short sequel to my other fic "Cat for a Week," Please check it out if you haven't yet.

* * *

><p><strong>A Tendril of Magi<strong>**c**

**Part ****V**

* * *

><p><em><em>'<em>___I hate myself.____'__

__Silver ____doesn't look up when she spoke. ____Her eyes were unwaveringly trained on the ____motionless____ body lying in her arms. ____She sounded old and tired. Her entire body is hunched over and her face was drawn and pale.  
><em>_

__She was____ in a dark place. ____B____oth____ literal____ly____ and figuratively. ____There was nothing around her but endless black ____and ____Duo tried not to stare or think about the fact that he was walking on nothing as he moved forward. He____ took the seat next to her so that they were sitting shoulder to shoulder. __

__'There's nothing you could do,' he said. __

__Silver shook her head.  
><em>_

__'This isn't the first time he's died for me,' she said rather humorlessly. Her eyes, now pitched black instead of her usual cornflower blue, looked expressionless. 'It would have been better if I never existed.' __

__Duo couldn't answer back. __

__He understood her feelings. Memories of Father Maxwell, Solo, Sister Helen, and the three who died in White Fang because he refused to talk and countless others managed to fight their way to the front of his mind.__

__The world would have been better off ____if he didn't exist either. __

__Duo doesn't know how long they sat there; two lost beings in a sea of nothingness. __

_..._

Duo woke to Heero shaking his shoulders. Bewildered, he sat up and realized that he was in his old bedroom, in his old bed. That was his Nirvana poster on the chocolate-colored walls and his old tool box sitting on the nightstand.

He suddenly remembered arriving home yesterday, remembered Heero driving. He had looked out from the car at the passing rows of military forts and trenches to see soldiers and civilians alike walking around with machine guns and weapons.

Duo was lucky. His old house was located in the few parts on earth that was still fortified against the youma by the rebellion. He still remembered the burst of happiness he felt the moment they pulled up. The few extra days he had to stay at Quatre's place, until he was deem healthy enough to be on his own, was well worth it. Duo was finally able to go back to the yard.

He was finally home.

The scrap yard was just as he left it. His house was still standing and everything inside was still in its place from the tacky picture of the dogs playing poker that hung on the living room wall to the ugly orange arm-chair that clashed with the red and gold carpeting.

Duo took to wondering around to get himself reacquainted with his stuff. Heero, the only one to accompany him, followed behind silently.

Hilde's things were missing. She had moved out a year after his disappearance, unable to cope with the memories. In her place were things he recognized as belonging to the most emotionally stunted member of his rag-tag team. Heero had taken over the space left vacant by Hilde. The Gundam Wing pilot had moved into the spare bedroom and kept up the maintenance. Heero had also been the one to take care of Duo's personal effects and Deathscythe.

Realizing that he had a new housemate, Duo drew Heero into a one-arm, manly hug.

"Thanks, man," he gruffly said.

Walking around his home, Duo began putting his life back in order. He took a long soak in a hot bath on his first night back before he headed to bed. The moment his head hit the pillow, he was out. He was asleep until Heero woke him from his nightmare.

"You okay?" Heero asked. He stood by the bed with a frown. "You were tossing."

"Yeah," Duo embarrassingly lifted a hand to run through his shaggy hair. He made a note to get his hair trimmed. "Just a dream."

He shook off the lingering depression from the image of Silver, in human form, sitting in the dark mourning her lover while wishing she had never been born.

Duo pushed the dream away.

_..._

__'She's suppose to give birth to Chiba-Usa a week from now,' Orange said. ____Her head was lying on her folded arms. She was on the floor of an abandoned ____temple____ that she and the other girls were living in, lying on a tattered futon. She lifted her head and looked at Green. 'Do you think she's alright?' __

__'She's fine,' Red snapped from her place across the room. ____She was trying to meditate over a small fire pit. Her face was exhausted and pinched.  
><em>_

__'You need to rest, Rei,' Blue said. 'You've been trying for hours now.'__

__'You need to keep your strength up,' Teal added. Teal looked up from where she gently stroked Purple's hair. 'We'll find her.' __

__Red closed her eyes in resignation. 'I just don't like the thought of her being alone, you know?' ____She turned to a moving shadow. 'What do you think, Luna?'__

__The shadow moved forward and a black cat came into vie____w. __

__Luna looked passed all of them____ to stare straight at Duo. __

__She seemed to be thinking deeply. __

__'Meet me,' the cat ordered. She doesn't give Duo any room to protest. __

__'Er...Luna? Who are you talking to?' Orange asked. She stared right through Duo and noticed nothing but an empty space. __

__Luna was apparently the only one who could see him.__

__'Meet me,' Luna insisted. The image of the old safe-house he use to live in with the guys and Silver popped into his head. 'Three days.' __

_..._

Duo doesn't really take a shine to being ordered around. Especially from dreams. It seemed like a stupid idea to ask Heero to take him to their old safe-house to meet with a figment of his imagination, so he kept silent. Still...his eyes were drawn to the calendar and as the days passed, he marked them off with a jittery hand.

He 'x' out the fourth day.

Duo doesn't realize that he was holding his breathe until it came whooshing out.

When the doorbell rung on the fifth day in the early morning, a part of Duo wasn't surprise. He watched as Heero drew out his gun and hid behind the door frame.

Duo opened the door.

Red was on his doorstep along with the other girls and the black cat, Luna, from his dreams.

Duo fought the urge to laugh hysterically. Seeing them in person finally triggered something in his memory and he finally realized where he knew them from. He use to play the video game all the time when he was younger at whatever arcade he could break into.

The Sailor Senshis were real and they were on his doorstep.

If her expression was anything to go by, Sailor Mars looked like she swallowed a particularly sour lemon.

Heero stepped from behind the door to aim his gun.

"It's okay, Hee-chan," Duo pushed the gun down. He looked at Sailor Mars, the leader, and offered a grin. "Come in."

He moved aside so that the girls could enter.

"Nice digs," Sailor Jupiter commented as she came in from behind Sailor Mars. She helped a limping Sailor Uranus in. Sailor Mercury followed holding Luna and Sailor Venus held a silver cat.

"Thank you for the hospitality," the silver cat greeted. He lifted a paw to close Duo's gaping mouth.

Sailor Neptune was the last holding a dark hair, sleeping child in her arms.

"Its been a long journey," Sailor Neptune remarked. She looked down at the sleeping girl. A flash of light went off, it blinded Duo for a few seconds, but when it cleared he was treated to the sight of Sailor Neptune's real identity.

The familiar curly teal- hair woman nodded at him.

He had seen her picture in the newspaper a few years ago. He even thinks Quatre has a poster of her on the wall somewhere. She was a famous classical musician whose name escaped him.

What really threw him for a loop, however, was the fact that Haruka Tenoh, one of the most famous race-car drivers, was lying on the couch where Sailor Uranus use to be.

Duo recognized the other girls now that they weren't disguised in their Sailor suits. Not in the same fashion as he does with the two famous media figures. He recognized them because he had met them years ago, the day he lost Silver.

Priestess, Sunny, Amazon and Nurse.

Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury.

"It wasn't a dream..." Duo muttered.

He started to sway as his vision swam.

He blacked out.

_..._

__'They're very stubborn, aren't they?' Silver mummer. She looked up from where she was stroking her lover's hair to smile at Duo. 'When you wake up will you tell them I'm okay?' __

__'Are you? Okay, I mean,' Duo asked. He kneel down at her side. ____The more he studied her, the more things fell into place. ____Of course, the____re____ were a lot more questions than answers, but the one thing he did get was that the girl in front of him was Sailor Moon. __

__Silver was Sailor Moon. __

__His cat was a superhero. __

__Duo doesn't know if he could take any more surprises. __

__'I'm fine,' Silver said quietly. 'I'm happy. All I want is to be left alone.' __

__She drew a bro____a____ch from her dress and pressed it into his hand. ____Her other hand came to rest on his cheek. 'I'm glad to have met you, Duo Maxwell.' __

__Her eyes were sincere. __

__'You make it sound like a goodbye,' Duo frowned. __

__'It is.' Her expression harden. With steely resolve, she shoved him away and he fell. __

__Duo's body plummeted ____down____ into the darkness. __

_…_

Duo sat up to a sea of pale faces staring at him from across the room. Hovering over him, Heero held a gun at the Sailor Senshis to keep them at a distance.

"We really need to talk about your people skills," Duo muttered. He managed to convinced a reluctant Heero to put the gun down.

When Duo went to rub his aching head, he realized that something was in his clenched fist. When he opened his hand, Duo stared at the crystal broach.

The light of the living room made the crystal sparkle.

"She's not coming back," Sunny said with a stun voice. She fell backwards to the ground in shock.

In the background, Duo heard the door slam shut as Priestess angrily left. Something hopped into his lap and Duo stared at the black cat.

"We've never been formally introduce," the cat said. "I'm Luna."

Luna looked prim and proper, for a cat that is, and Duo had the urge to offer her tea.

"Tea would be nice, thank you," Luna sagged. "It's a long story after all."

Heero and Duo exchanged looks.

'Go with it,' Duo silently said. 'Trust me.'

Amazon ended up being the one to get the tea ready, raiding the kitchen.

Over a steaming cup of Earl Gray, Duo listened.


	7. Part VI

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

**An**: Sorry it took a while! Please enjoy!

**Warning: **English is not my first language, so please forgive me if they're any mistakes grammar or spelling wise. I'll try to catch as many as I can. The tone of this fic is much darker, too.

**Summary: **This is a short sequel to my other fic "Cat for a Week," Please check it out if you haven't yet.

* * *

><p><strong>A Tendril of Magi<strong>**c**

**Part VI**

* * *

><p>It was almost uncanny how Luna could command a room. From the moment she spoke the silence fell and all eyes went to her. There was something in her voice that demanded to be listen to. She was about the size of a basketball. Hell, Duo had bruises that were bigger than she was, but Duo got the feeling that if she gave the order, the senshi would have jumped into the ocean without another thought. He didn't fail to notice (three years of imprisonment couldn't erase the years of practiced profiling) that the senshi took their cues from her. They didn't relax until she relaxed. They didn't drink until she drinked. Luna was the real power behind their group even with Sailor Mars visibly leading the way.<p>

Duo had seen that type of trait in people like Treize Khushrenada and Millardo Peacecraft and even in Quatre, natural-born leaders who could rally an entire army with just a few words. Beings like them were on another level beyond his understanding.

He honestly doesn't know how to react as he sat across from her.

"It started almost a thousand years ago," Luna said wearily. She sat on his kitchen table, one paw extended to her cup of tea, and she told him everything...from the Millennium Kingdom to Sailor Moon to the youmas outbreak. She even told him about Silver – Usagi Tsukino (Duo filed that name away in his head) – and how she came to know Duo.

A decaying, ruined palace on the moon...reincarnated princesses...magic spells that turned girls into cats...as outlandish and unbelievable as her story was, Duo believed her.

It was hard not to considering that he was speaking to a talking cat.

"Some of Usagi's magic rubbed off on you during the week she was in your care," Luna nodded. The old wound from his shoulder, the one he received all those years ago when he fought that youma, flared up slightly.

"It created a bond between you and Usagi," Luna stared right into his eyes. "Right now, that bond is the only connection we have to her."

Duo stared down at the jewel in his hand.

So he was just a human GPS meant to lead them to Sailor Moon...

"What do you want me to do?" he asked warily.

"What you've been doing," Luna was relieved that he seemed willing to help. "You dream."

...

_Duo tried._

_The only thing he saw when he slept was darkness._

...

The senshi stayed with him.

It didn't seem right to kick out girls and animals who were tired, starving, and hurting (Haruka Tenoh seemed to be in the worst shape out of all the senshi. Duo was pretty sure that the blood stain on his couch was now permanent) and Heero hadn't been too keen with the new guests, but Duo managed to talk him into it.

Even for a house this size, adding seven people and two cats was pushing the limit.

Duo stepped over a sleeping Minako.

He stopped for a moment to look down at the tufts of long blond hair that was visible underneath the covers he had managed to scrounge up. The yellow knitted blanket he had given to her smelled like moth balls. There were holes and snags and he felt a slight twinge of guilt that he didn't have anything better. He couldn't even offer her a better place to rest other than the floor, but she had taken the offerings gratefully. He could hear the soft sound of her snores as she slept on undeterred.

The other senshi were scattered all over the rest of his living room. There was Makoto who slept in the corner and Ami who everyone had to force onto the couch. Michiru, Haruka, and the little girl Hotaru was in his bed while he bunked with Heero.

Duo doesn't know where Sailor Mars slept.

He managed to catch a glimpse of her once or twice around the house. Their paths rarely cross, but the intel from the front line soldiers commented that all youmas within a hundred foot radius of Duo's home are terrified of coming closer.

The smell of burning youma corpses that lingered in the air makes Duo turn green.

…

_Duo shouted her name out...Sailor Moon...Usagi Tsukino...Silver...he even tried Princess Serenity, hoping for a response._

_Silver doesn't answer._

...

"Usagi's world is so small...sometimes I think it's only big enough for Mamoru..." Minako said. The blond senshi was in the kitchen. She made him sit while she cooked with whatever sparse ingredients that they had. The small amount of fruits and vegetable that Heero got from protecting one of the few standing farmland wouldn't be enough to make their stomach full, but it was just enough to sate their appetite for another day.

"Are you angry at her?" Duo asked.

He got the sense that Sailor Mars, Sailor Uranus, and maybe Sailor Neptune were a little pissed at Sailor Moon's disappearance.

Minako paused for a moment.

"A part of me is," she admitted. "She abandoned us. She's putting the world, not to mention the baby, in danger, but what I feel the most is sad. Mamoru was a good man. Usagi loved him. He was her soul-mate."

She continued chopping.

"I've never felt that way about anyone. I don't know what it's like to have that happiness suddenly ripped away with no warning," Minako looked back. "Do you?"

Hilde's image came to him.

Duo ignored the pang he felt in his chest.

...

_"I'm sorry..."_

_He said it to the darkness and he hoped that it reached Silver wherever she was._

...

It's been over three-week and the disappointment in Luna's eyes was hard to face.

"I suppose that when she doesn't want to be found, she can't be found," the cat said from Ami's arms. She and the other senshi were packed and ready to leave.

"What are you going to do?" Duo asked. From the corner of his eyes he saw Heero hand Hotaru a bag full of supplies.

"What we've always done," Luna gently reached out to touch his arm. "We fight. Thank you for all you've done."

They turned.

"Wait!" Duo pulled Sailor Moon's brooch out of his pocket and handed it to Rei Hino.

The expression on the priestess's face was blank. She gave a nod before placing it in her pocket.

"If you need anything-" Duo began.

"We'll be in contact," Rei Hino said briskly.

"How?" Duo asked. Other than the one time Luna's abilities allowed her to see Duo in a dream and asked for a meeting, they had no way of keeping in contact. Cellphones were a luxury. Even then calls were sporadic depending on which cell towers were still standing.

Minako placed something in his hand.

It was a pretty pink compact.

"It belonged to Usagi," Minako said. "It's a communication device. You flip the lid and talk right into it. Instant video chat. Ami has the other one, so if you need anything call."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then, holding onto one another, the senshi turned and walked away. Duo watched until their figures disappeared in the distance.

Heero placed a hand on his shoulder.

"There's something you should know," Heero said quietly.

It was something Hotaru – Sailor Saturn – mentioned to Heero the day before they left.

All of the senshi's powers and abilities were slowing degrading without Sailor Moon, soon they would be just ordinary girls.

They were still planning to fight, even without any powers.

...

_"They're going to die," Duo said in his dream. He half-hoped that she would give him a signal or a sign that she was listening. "They're your friends, right? Your family. If you don't come back, they're not going to make it. They can't fight without you."_

_The only response he got was heavy silence._


	8. Part VII

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

**An**: Sorry it took a while! Please enjoy!

**Warning: **English is not my first language, so please forgive me if they're any mistakes grammar or spelling wise. I'll try to catch as many as I can. The tone of this fic is much darker, too.

**Summary: **This is a short sequel to my other fic "Cat for a Week," Please check it out if you haven't yet.

* * *

><p><strong>A Tendril of Magic<strong>

**Part VI****I**

* * *

><p>Juubangai fell...<p>

It happened in the early hours of the morning, right before the sun rose. The soldiers that were patrolling the borders weren't a match for the surging number of monsters that managed to break through the barrier and into the city. In less than thirty minutes, half the population was already wiped out.

The young ones and the really old are the first to go. They are the weakest and the slowest. They're followed by the ones who were too scared to think straight; people who run in every direction just for the sake of running. Those panic-stricken ones were the ones that were hunted for sport. The monsters like to play with their prey. They especially like the ones that runs inadvertently to them.

The smart ones, they ducked into the smallest, darkest place where they can't be seen and they wait until the monsters passed or until the sun rose and the monsters retreat back into the shadows. When they come out they were herded by whatever police force or government is still left. They move with pale faces onto the next safe haven that they can find.

The area around Duo's home are swarmed with refugees.

His house becomes a sanctuary for anyone and everyone who needed a roof over their heads. Duo handed a little girl that moth-eaten blanket that Minako once used and the girl's father thanked him. The man pulled his daughter tighter into his arms and his eyes continuously darted around, looking for danger as they settled on the floor of Duo's living room.

Duo retreated back into Heero's room to sleep. His own room was being used by a middle-age nun and a handful of children who lost their parents.

The familiar white and black garb had made Duo nostalgic.

He laid on the bed with one arm covering his eyes.

For the next few weeks, he does everything he can for the miserable, scared people staying in his house. It had become a crowded circus. Duo couldn't take a step without bumping into someone. His privacy was shot to hell and the air in his humble home became stale with the smell of unwashed sweat and blood. Still...when he saw Hilde and her husband among the refugees taking up space in his hall, he felt like it was worth it.

Duo doesn't regret opening his door.

He doesn't regret it even when he laid in his own blood as everyone in the crowd screamed. He saw the man who went nuts get tackled, the knife taken away as the man screamed about monsters and demons. The man had reached his breaking point and he lashed out. He was delusional and panicky. His eyes were blood-shot and it glinted with a manic light. He was wrestled to the floor and tied up with belts as people frantically loomed over Duo's bleeding form.

Hands tried to stanch the blood loss.

He saw Hilde beside him.

"Don't speak, idiot," she told him.

Duo managed to smile as the blood gurgled from his lips.

Black spots danced in front of his eyes.

"Duo? Duo!"

He doesn't remember anything after that.

_..._

_Duo stood in the middle of a desert that was filled with endless black sand with a black sun that shone unforgivably down. _

_He sweltered in the heat. The black fabric of his uniform stuck to his skin as Duo lifted one hand to shade his eyes. He squinted into the distance. He has no idea where the hell he was. It took him a few moments, but when the realization does hit him, he cursed up a storm. This wasn't the first time he's had this particular dream. _

_He's had this nightmare every night since the senshi left. _

_In about five seconds, he was going to feel a pull at his navel. It would be an unpleasant, violent tug. The scene around him was going to change dramatically and instead of the endless sand dunes and wide black plains, he's going to find himself running through a murky, tangled swamp. _

_He ran because he has been here before. He knew what would happen if he didn't run. Dream or not, Duo's survival instinct was on high alert. _

_The tree branches scraped and scratched at his face. His boots made loud splashing noises as it hit the waters. The smell of the bayou heavily assaulted his nose. Even after he kept repeating to himself that it was a dream, he couldn't help but cringe. The gassy, putrid odor of the swampland smelled so real. It stung in his nostrils and set it ablaze. _

_He had to hop over fallen logs and shoved through bushes and hanging vines. When one wet branch from a low hanging tree smack him dead center in his face, he swore he heard the birds mocking him as they hid in the tree tops. _

_While he was running, he kept a tight grip on the hand he held. He was aware of the warmth of another person's palm in his and of the body that he was pulling along. _

_Duo turned. _

_There she was again, like clockwork. He saw a little girl who couldn't be more than five-years-old. She has pink hair that was tied in a bun on each side of her head with thick strands spilling from it; a sort of bun-pig tail. _

_Duo couldn't help but glance back at her as they moved forward. His glaze kept going back to reassure himself that she was still there. _

_She noticed the constant glances and smiled sweetly. _

_Duo felt a surge of overwhelming protectiveness. _

_Behind them, he heard the sounds of their pursuers gaining ground. In front of them, he heard distant growls and hisses of monsters. He pulled her so that they veered to the left. _

_He saw an opening in trees and he burst through it in a hurry, dragging the unnamed girl with him. _

_His heart sank. _

_In front of them was nothing but a stone wall. _

_He should have known it would end like this. _

_How would this dream end? In the last one, he was devoured along with the girl by a horde of hungry monsters. In the dream before that they were cornered and shot to death by OZ soldiers. In the one before that one, they were smothered to death because Duo had unknowingly dragged them into a sand pit. _

_The one constant was that his dream never ended happily._

_He was going to die and he was going to take the child with him. _

_Duo tiredly place a hand to the wall and he searched, hoping to find an opening. It was useless. Of course there wasn't one. He grabbed his braid in frustration. _

_He felt the pursuers closing in. _

_Duo pulled the girl into his arms and tried to shield her. He leaned down until his lips was at her ear and he whispered an apology. _

_He held her tightly as the OZ soldiers set the bushes around them on fire. He never let her go even as the flames licked at their clothing and cooked their skin. _

_**...**_

Duo's eyes are closed shut when he regained consciousness. A heavy, invisible, suffocating pressure was on his chest and limbs. His body felt leaden and Duo struggled not to panic when nothing moves like it should. Even his pinky doesn't so much as twitch. His body won't response to any commands, so he laid there while everyone talked around him.

He's trapped in his own mind and no one around him seemed to notice.

"How is he?" Duo heard Trowa's quiet voice ask.

"He's stable now," a woman replied.

"Is he going to be alright, Sally?" Quatre's voice was anxious.

"It's hard to tell. I don't have the equipment needed to give him the best care," a pause. "But I'll do everything I can."

Wufei's next word sums everything up. "Fuck."

Duo couldn't agree more.

_**...**_

_The sun was just one big black hole in the sky. It brought the heat down in droves and Duo could feel the soles of his boots become scorching hot as temperature of the sand underneath his feet rose. _

_He really hated this desert. _

_There was that familiar tug again and he was running through the swamps, his braid whipping behind him as he raced through. _

_He turned and sure enough there she was, his unnamed companion. Her pink hair flew backwards as she struggled to keep up. _

"_Aren't you going to say something?" he asked. In his dreams, he had never once heard her speak. _

_She merely smile. _

_Duo would have given his left hand for Wufei right about now. Wufei's supernatural ability to find an exit, no matter how many twists and turns were thrown at him, would have been real useful. _

_Or he'd give his right hand for Quatre. He really needed the quiet boost of strength that the blond always and mysteriously managed to supply by just one touch. _

_Duo stopped abruptly in the middle of the swamp. _

_His silent companion plowed into his back, surprised at the sudden halt. Duo automatically reached out a hand to steady her. _

_They can't go forward or to the right. In front of them was that damn sand pit. To the right was where they got eaten. They couldn't go to the left, OZ soldiers would catch up and they would be burned to death. They couldn't backtrack, more OZ soldiers were waiting with guns and a hail of bullets. _

_There was nowhere to go. _

_Duo looked up at the towering trees with a raised brow. _

_The foliage was thick. In some places, the sunlight barely managed to pierce through some of the brushes. If they managed to climb and play their cards right, they would be well camouflage. They would be hidden, at least, from the soldiers.  
><em>

"_We're going to climb, alright?" he told his companion. He pointed up to the trees. She gave him a doubtful look and glanced down at her clothes. _

_Duo finally took notice of what she was wearing; a sailor suit, thin white socks, and dress shoes with the shiny buckles. She even had a bright red bow at the collar of her school uniform. _

"_Yeah, you can't climb in those, can you?" he ran a hand through his hair as he debated on her Mary-Jane like shoes. "Can you climb without them?" _

_She gave him a look. One that was a cross between horrified and disbelieving. _

"_Just try," he urged. _

_She hesitated before reaching down and taking her shoes off. She placed a shoe in each pocket of her skirt and Duo watched as she walked up to a tree. She reached up a slender hand and found a firm notch. One foot went up to another notch and slowly she inched up way up until he couldn't see her any longer. She disappeared into the leaves. _

_Duo heard something crashing through the bushes a short distance away. Man or monster, he didn't wait to see what it was. He climb the tree after her in record time. _

_They ended up on the same branch and Duo had a sense of deja vu. He felt the color leached from his face. He felt a hand a hand on his arm and turned to the girl who had a worried look. He heard rustling from below and tried to prepared himself. _

_The monster came to them. _

_It crawled up, faster than he expected, until its face were mere inches from Duo. It grinned. _

_Startled, Duo flailed back and knocked into the girl. He sent them tumbling off the branch and down towards the ground. _

_As they plunged, Duo managed to grab onto her and position himself below so that he could cushion her fall. _

_He felt her arms wrapped around him tightly. Her face was buried in his neck. When he hit the ground, he felt every bones in his back shatter. The blood that spurted up from his lungs and out of his mouth landed on her hair. His vision tunneled, but he managed to get a quick glimpse of how her neck was bent at an odd angle. _

_She didn't move._

_**...**_

Sally was the one who watched over him. Duo learned to identify her footsteps as she struggled to care for him. She talked to him sometimes. She kept him updated on the latest news. It was her voice that kept him grounded during his coma.

The visits from the other guys are far and few.

They're still fighting and patrolling the borders. Duo could smell the heavy oil and dirt that accompanied them when they managed to find the time to sit at his bedside.

"You better get your ass up soon. I didn't rescue you so that you sleep all day, Maxwell." _Wufei._

"I hope you're not in any pain, Duo." _Quatre. _

Heero and Trowa aren't ones for conversations, but Duo appreciated the effort.

"Get well soon, Mister!" That was from the little girl he had given a blanket to. Her father's voice is next and he thanks Duo for the kindness he had shown. Actually, all the refugees had taken a turn sitting at his bedside. They talked cheerfully to his unresponsive body.

"Thank you for everything you've done," they said. "Thank you for the hospitality."

Hilde's voice was mixed in with them.

Duo was never alone.

_**...**_

_"_Son of a-!" Duo finally lost it. He threw a fit and kicked everything in sight as she watched on silently. He hit the trees, rocks, boulder, anything he could find and he let loose. When he managed to calm himself down, he looked back. "You don't have any ideas, do you? Cause we're running out of options."  
><em>_

__It didn't matter what direction he took them in, it always ended with them being brutally killed. __

__Duo ran a hand through his hair. __

__"Wake up," the girl said promptly. __

__Duo had to look twice to make sure that those words had really came from her. This would be the first time he heard her speak.  
><em>_

__"You really need to wake up," the girl repeated. __

__"Wake up!" __

__...__

When Duo woke, he almost threw the weight that was sitting on his chest across the room. The tiny figure did tumble and Duo's instinct made him reach out and grab the girl before she could fall. The girl grabbed for a little grey kitten that went airborne. Once everyone was safe and Duo's heart started beating normally, he was finally able to study the kid that was on his lap. The child's pink hair and red eyes shine even in the dimness of the room.

Duo couldn't help, but stare.

The little girl is the spitting image of Silver...


	9. Part VIII

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

**An**: Thanks for reading up to this point.

**Warning: **English is not my first language, so please forgive me if they're any mistakes grammar or spelling wise. I'll try to catch as many as I can. The tone of this fic is much darker, too.

**Summary: **This is a short sequel to my other fic "Cat for a Week," Please check it out if you haven't yet.

* * *

><p><strong>A Tendril of Magic<strong>

**Part VIII****  
><strong>

* * *

><p>There was no sound in the room, but an oppressive deafness that set Duo's teeth on edge. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand and made his eardrums throb uncomfortably. She was just as he remembered from his dreams. Everything from her cotton candy colored hair to the sailor suit she wore was exactly the same. He had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming<em>.<br>_

"Are you Duo Maxwell?" the little girl demanded. Her chin jutted out arrogantly. He could already tell that she was a kid who was spoiled rotten. She was the type of kid who always got her way. A child who wasn't use to no as an answer. Duo pegged her as a brat who got everything she ever wanted without any real effort. The jewels alone that held her bun-pig tails together was probably worth more than his life.

The diamond and ruby encrusted bow-ties sparkled in the dim light.

She wasn't just rich, then. She was like Quatre or Relena, whose immense wealth practically made them royalty. The kid held herself like a princess as she ordered him to answer her.

"Who's asking?" Duo asked back cautiously. He flinched slightly when she turned a narrowed, intense glaze to fully stare at him. The color of her eyes unnerved him. No one had crimson eyes. No human at least. The only thing that kept him from reaching over to the nightstand for his gun was the fact that she was the spitting image of Silver. She didn't have Silver's charm or class, but their presence was similar. It was a subtle sort of difference. Like fine aged wine verses a tree in the orchard where the grapes weren't ripe yet.

If Silver was like a calm, gentle wind, then this child could be described as a wild gust of air.

She exchanged looks with the kitten in her arms.

They were interrupted when the door opened and a tall honey-blond hair woman walked in. If he didn't remember her from the photograph that Quatre showed him, then he at least recognized her footsteps.

Sally Po Chang looked startled to see him awake.

She managed to gather herself. She offered him a warm smile and Duo instantly relaxed as she moved through the room towards him. She introduced herself as his doctor as she leaned over to examine him.

"How long have I been out?" he croaked.

"Two weeks," Sally replied. She sensed his turmoil and she gave him a reassuring look. "How do you feel?"

"I could be better," he admitted. He winced when Sally decided to check on his wound. The place where he was stabbed was swath in bandages that she removed carefully so that she can take a look underneath. Sally was gentle as she redid the dressing.

"It's not infected," she told him. "Just a little more time and you should be healed up."

"Good to know," Duo groaned. He leaned back against his pillow, exhausted.

"You lost quite a bit of blood," Sally mentioned. "You might feel a little woozy." She offered a smile to the child sitting on the bed with the cat. "I hope Chibi-Usa isn't bothering you."

"I'm not bothering him," the girl promised. Her eyes slid to watch Duo and Duo got the eerie sensation that she was studying him. No kid her age should have that ancient, all-knowing look in their eyes. It made him feel like he was a child and she was the adult.

"Duo just woke up," Sally said to the girl. "Why don't you let your cousin rest for a bit."

"Cousin?" Duo echoed. His brows furred together in confusion. "I don't have a cousin."

From the corner of his eyes he saw the little girl lift a ball. The image printed on it oddly reminded him of Luna. Duo watched as Sally's eyes became a little unfocused and he frowned.

"Of course you have a cousin," Sally said. "You remember Chibi-Usa, don't you?"

It was on the tip of his tongue to say no, but he caught the expression on the little girl's face. He saw a gleaming light in her eyes, a 'shut-up and I won't have to hurt you' warning look. Was it his imagination or did the little grey kitten give him an apologetic expression?

Sally patted him on his shoulder.

"The shock may have messed with your memory," Sally said quietly. "It should pass. Why don't you get some rest. I'll take Chibi-Usa out."

The little girl dutifully climbed off the bed.

Chibi-Usa gave him one last inscrutable look before she left.

...

Duo spent the better part of the week warily looking at everyone around him.

It wasn't just Sally. It was Heero, Quatre, the whole damn house actually. They had been brain-washed. They didn't seem to find it strange that a little girl just appeared out of nowhere and claim to be his cousin (without proof of any sort). There was a blank look on their faces when he tried to question them.

"It's just the shock talking," they said. "That's why you can't remember."

After a while, Duo gave up.

He doesn't get a 'Children of the Corn' vibe, so she stayed. He tried to keep a close eye on her as much as he could. The times when he couldn't, one of the guys watched her carefully. Wufei had raised an eyebrow and Heero had grunted when Duo asked for the favor.

"Humor me," Duo insisted. "Keep an eye on her."

Quatre gently touched his shoulder and Trowa nodded. If the little girl noticed she was being followed around the house, she didn't let it show.

Duo just concentrated on getting better under Sally's guidance.

When he finally got well enough to leave the room, Duo walked slowly around his house to see what he had missed. Not much had changed except several of the refugees were gone. They were moved to a different location, a shelter a few miles down the road that was bigger and more equip to handle larger groups of people.

Duo noticed that the man who stabbed him was gone.

"We took our eyes off of him for a few seconds and somehow he managed to get a gun from a guard..." Hilde told him quietly later. "He killed himself."

Duo stood in the spot in his hallway where the man died. Someone, probably Quatre, had cleaned it up. There wasn't any sign of what happened. No blood trace, no smell of gunfire, just a bright white-wash wall.

He tiredly got out his bible.

He gave the dead man his last rites.

...

The little girl, Chibi-Usa, stuck to him like glue the moment he was able to get out of bed. If she wasn't around, then it was the gray kitten who took to following him. Duo couldn't move without one or the other tailing him, watching him like hawk. They seem to be waiting for something.

Sometimes he managed to catch the little girl talking to the kitten.

The kitten would nod or shake her head at questions and Duo's suspicion was finally proven true when, on the third week since he woke, the kitten finally spoke to him.

"Hello," she greeted. She sat on the nightstand in the room he shared with Heero. He had walked in hoping to get some sleep when he noticed her waiting for him. She glazed at something over his shoulder. Turning, Duo doesn't have time to react. The pink-haired child had crept up behind him. She reached out and she grabbed his hand.

A sudden gust of wind picked up around the room. It ruffled the curtains and his hair. His stomach flipped nauseatingly as he broke out into a panic sweat. His heartbeat went haywire as the world blurred around him.

Duo found himself in a new location. He sat in the middle of a nostalgically familiar place that was filled with black sand and black sand dunes. When he looked up, he saw a black sun.

The place in his nightmares became a reality.

His throat became as dry as the air around him.

"Come on," the little girl grabbed his hand. She tried to haul him to his feet. "Come on! Ugh!" Her entire body strained in vain to move him.

"Where exactly are we?" Duo asked. His heartbeat finally slowed and his racing pulse was steady enough for him to relax slightly. He shoved the panic he felt down.

"The Negaverse," the girl said impatiently. "Now get up! Diana, help me!"

The little grey kitten tried her best as she nudged her head against Duo's leg.

Negaverse...even the name of the place sound ominous.

Duo swallowed hard.

"What are we doing here?" he finally asked.

"Saving Mama," the little girl huffed. "Now get up!"

She stomped her feet in annoyance when he doesn't budge.

"Small Lady, we should tell him," the kitten said. She turned to look at Duo. "We're here to rescue Chibi-Usa's mother, the future queen of Crystal Toyko, Neo-Queen Serenity. Her name from this time is Tsukino Usagi."

Tsukino Usagi...Silver's real name...Duo ran a hand through his hair. He believed them. The little girl looked too much like Silver for it to be disputed. With all the weird things that has happened to him, meeting someone from the future seemed almost normal.

"We didn't have enough power to come back in time any earlier..." the kitten said regretfully. "We couldn't save King Endymion, but we can still save Neo-Queen Serenity. We need your help."

"So let's go!" Chibi-Usa impatiently grabbed him by the arm again. Suddenly, their motive in kidnapping him became clear. Rescuing Silver was the reason they came to him and Duo shook his head.

"I wish I can help, but I can't," he told them.

He doesn't know what kind of special powers the senshi and this girl thought he had in finding Silver, but he tried. He tried for weeks unsuccessfully. He would just end up disappointing them.

"But-" the kitten protested. "You're the only one who can help us find Neo-Queen Serenity!"

"I'm sorry," Duo said. He really was. He watched as a scowl crossed the child's face. A part of him felt sorry for her. He knew what it was like to not have parents. Hell, he cobbled his family up with whoever he could hold on to. G was his grandfather. Trowa was his father-figure and Quatre his mother. Wufei and Heero were his older brothers.

The child was desperately trying to save what family she could and with the way she was glaring at him he could tell that she was going to do whatever it took. It didn't matter whether Duo was willing or not.

Duo wearily picked himself up from the sand.

He took her hand.

He'll try until she realize the truth. That he was useless. He could barely save himself. He was a pathetic shell of who he use to be, a haunted shadow who still had nightmares of being back in that underground prison. On a good night, after a vicious nightmare, he could control the muscle spasm and the shaking in his limbs. On a bad night...

She would have to learn the lesson the hard way. Until then, it was better to humor her.

Together, under that blazing black sun, they started to make their way through the desert.


	10. Part IX

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon.

**An**: I won't lie, I have a love/hate relationship with this fic. There are time when I just want to give up, but my stubbornness won't let me. I hope at least one person likes it. Thanks for reading!

**Warning: **English is not my first language, so please forgive me if they're any mistakes grammar or spelling wise. I'll try to catch as many as I can. The tone of this fic is much darker, too.

**Summary: **They were bound to meet again, even if they didn't know it. Squeal to "Cat for a Week".

* * *

><p><strong>A Tendril of Magic<strong>

**Part ****IX**

* * *

><p>The journey through the Negaverse was slow and painstakingly long.<p>

It was also dead quiet.

Other than the skies graying, nothing moved. No bugs. No plants. No animals. Nothing stirred and even after miles of slogging their way through the sweltering desert with the sun harshly bearing down their backs, he couldn't find any other signs of life. The only set of tracks in the sand had been his and Chibi-Usa.

"It's been such a long time since anything lived in the Negaverse," the kitten said from her perch on Chibi-Usa's shoulder. "There's probably nothing dangerous here." She tried to sound confidant, but all Duo heard was the hope. He gave the kitten a wary look.

"How long is a long time?" he asked.

The kitten looked thoughtful. "From this timeline it's been a few years since Princess Serenity defeated Queen Beryl. All of the youmas that lived here vanished after Queen Beryl's death and the realm was sealed off. At least, that's what my mother told me." Duo saw how the fur stood on its roots as the kitten shuddered. "It was never suppose to open again."

Chibi-Usa stiffened.

The kitten, sensing the tension, quickly changed the subject.

"My name is Diana," the kitten looked at him with wide blue eyes that she had definitely inherited from her mother. "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Maxwell."

Being called Mr. Maxwell made him feel old.

Duo hid his cringe inwardly as she beamed.

"And this is Neo-Princess Serenity," Diana introduced.

The pink-haired child doesn't acknowledge him except to pointedly ask him which way to go.

Duo randomly picked North.

It seemed like a good direction as any to travel to.

...

"We're going to have to camp," he said a few hours later. They stopped to rest for a moment, mainly to shake the sand out of their shoes. He noticed the sun dipping. It was going to get dark soon and he honestly wasn't looking forward to spending the night there.

Duo ran a hand through his hair and cringed at the amount of sand that fell out.

Chibi-Usa protested. "I want to keep going!"

"We won't be able to see anything in the dark," Duo shook his head. "It's better if we camp and start in the morning."

"Small Lady," Diana whispered urgently.

There was a brief staring match.

"Fine," Chibi-Usa grumbled.

She dropped the backpack she was carrying to the sand.

Supplies spilled out and among them was a ball that seemed to shake itself awake before it gently floated into the air.

Duo gaped.

The problem of creating fire for light and warmth was solved after a straight, quick burst of magic from Luna-P ("It's named after my mother," the kitten said proudly). Duo managed to tear his eyes away long enough to grab the blanket that Chibi-Usa tossed at him. She pulled a second blanket for herself from her bag.

It turned out that Chibi-Usa's pack held plenty of other things like water bottles, canned food, and there was even a first-aid kit. Everything they needed to survive for the next few days was packed in there. There wasn't a weapon. It was probably too much to hope for, but at least they wouldn't have to worry about starving for the time being.

Dinner was a few tin-cans of soup that they heated over the flames.

The sun finally went down.

When the moon fully came out, Duo just stared. It looked just like the moon back on earth. It loomed large and white and it cast a light that lit up the desert for miles. He marveled at it while Chibi-Usa balefully look out across the desert as if she could spot where her mother was by sheer will.

"What's your mom like?" he asked. He clarified when she turned to look at him. "In the future." He was curious about the kind of a person Silver was going to be.

"She's pretty, and nice, and she smells good," Chibi-Usa answered reluctantly after a long pause. "Even when she's busy, she never forgot to tuck me in at night and read to me."

Duo was glad to know that Silver wouldn't change one bit in the future.

"Your mom sounds awesome," he said. He felt a pang of envy. He had never known his mother. He was found in a dumpster as an infant and moved from orphanage to orphanage until he was old enough to run away. That was before he met Father Maxwell. Until then, the streets had been his parents. "You're very lucky."

"I know," she turned her nose up.

Duo turned his glaze out to watch for danger.

**...**

Morning came.

The black sun began to rise and Duo shook Chibi-Usa and Diana awake. There were heavy bags underneath his eyes from staying awake all night on guard while they slept. He was painfully aware of how haggard he looked. He was lucky they chose not to say anything.

Chibi-Usa just grouchily got up and Diana wished him a good morning.

They had more soup straight from a can before they packed and set off in the direction that Duo picked.

Just like the day before, another day passed by slowly and tediously.

Mile after mile, the scenery doesn't change. But neither does their strides.

They just kept going.

...

They passed another night sullenly eating by the fire. Only this time, Diana told him that Luna-P will be keeping watch. He could sleep if he wanted to.

Duo stared at the floating ball.

He doesn't know if he was comfortable having his life in the hands of something that looked like it should belong to a toddler, but there was a voice in his head, one that sounded like Wufei, that told him that he needed the rest. That he wouldn't anyone much good if he collapsed from exhaustion.

"You'll wake me if anything move?" he asked the ball.

The ball nodded.

He reluctantly laid down. He could hear Chibi-Usa doing the same nearby. Her voice whispered goodnight to Diana.

"Goodnight, Small Lady," Diana whispered back. "Have a good dream."

The soft, even breathing a few minutes later told him that the child and the kitten was asleep.

Above him, Luna-P floated back and forth, keeping guard.

Duo closed his eyes.

Sleep doesn't come easy.

When it did, he was confronted with every mistakes and every regret he made in his life. Every person he killed or got killed was there, clawing at him with accusing eyes and snarling lips. He practically drowned in the blood that rained down. Duo heard someone wailing from a distance. It was a raw, howling, painful sound.

The screaming came from his throat, he realized later.

Chibi-Usa and Diana looked terrified when he finally woke.

...

The next night, he slept in short intervals.

...

The night after that, he was the one who woke the kid up. She was thrashing in her sleep. He caught a mutter of "cold" and "ice," before she jolted up. Large crimson eyes were blown wide open as she took big, shuddering breaths.

It took Diana three hours to get her back to sleep.

Duo watched as the kitten gently watched over Chibi-Usa.

"The Dark Moon Clan," the kitten said. She whispered it as if she was afraid that uttering the name would bring down a curse. "They're an evil empire in our time. They...Neo-Queen Serenity, she..."

Duo closed his eyes as the kitten spoke.

He was familiar with awful things. It wasn't hard to imagine what the kid had gone through, the emotion she must have felt as she watched her mother being killed in front of her. He knew that anguish. He had lived through it with Father Maxwell.

"Everything was frozen when we left," the kitten said. Her eyes were teary.

Seeing the world ransacked ...he was familiar with that, too.

When Chibi-Usa refused to sleep the next night, he doesn't blame her.

Despite all of Diana coxing, Duo and Chibi-Usa sat still, eyes open as they stared at the fire.

...

They traveled for what felt like an eternity. They ate. Slept when they had to. Walked all day and they repeated that cycle over and over again until eventually, everything blurred together in one haze of color. Nothing really broke up the routine except when the sun grew too hot to continue. Luna-P would transformed into a large umbrella and they would take refuge underneath the shade. A spread blanket and leaning back, Duo could almost pretend that he was on a beach somewhere. Somewhere that wasn't as gloomy and depressing.

Duo took a large gulp of water from a bottle. Beside him, Chibi-Usa scowled as she sat cross-legged and Diana gently licked her paw.

They were getting nowhere.

The strain of finding nothing about where Silver was was taking its toll.

"You're not trying," Chibi-Usa said. She stared at him flatly.

"What do you mean?" Duo frowned.

"You're not trying," Chibi-Usa scowled. "If you were I would have found my mom already."

Duo tried not to flinch.

"Small Lady," Diana protested.

Chibi-Usa got to her her feet. "I'm going for a walk." She didn't wait for an answer. She stormed away and disappeared behind a sand dune.

"I'm very sorry," Diana apologized to Duo. She ran after Chibi-Usa. "Small Lady! Wait!"

Duo watched them go.

Blowing off steam was something he understood, so he didn't follow.

When they came back, Chibi-Usa was still in a foul mood, but her temper had simmered down a little. The glare she gave him made him think of Sailor Mars. There was no doubt in his mind who helped raise her.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. If he could find Silver, if he had that power, he would have used it.

Chibi-Usa turned away.

"Talk is cheap," she told him.

Duo was willing to bet that her biting wit also came from Sailor Mars.

"Yeah, it is." Duo admitted.

She sulked for the rest of the day.

...

"What makes you so sure your mom is here?" Duo asked Chibi-Usa one afternoon.

"I feel it," Chibi-Usa practically glowered at him. The anger was too hard to maintain and a few moments later, her face fell into a depressed expression.

"Do you feel anything, Mr. Maxwell?" the kitten asked with hopeful eyes.

"No," he answered.

He doesn't feel a thing. Not a twinge. The disappointment on the kitten's face was hard to bare. He reached out a hand to gently pat her head. The kitten purred and she head-butted his hand. She accidentally knocked his fingers into the brooch that was on Chibi-Usa's uniform.

A light spark out and vanished.

"Chibi-Usa..." the kitten looked thunderstruck. "You don't think..."

They exchanged looks before Chibi-Usa frantically tried to remove the brooch.

"Where is the Silver Crystal in this timeline, Mr. Maxwell?" the kitten asked in a fevered voice.

"With Sailor Mars," Duo remembered handing her the jewel.

"Maybe that's why we haven't found her," the kitten turned to Chibi-Usa. "He doesn't have the crystal!"

"Here!" Chibi-Usa grabbed his hand and a familiar jewel was placed into his palm.

"This is the Silver crystal from our time," the kitten said. She looked on happily as the gem glowed and a narrow beam of light shot up. It moved like a search light until it finally pointed in one direction. "That's where Neo-Queen Serenity is."

"Don't drop it," Chibi-Usa ordered. She grabbed Duo's other hand. "Let's go!"

Duo struggled to understand as they followed the light.

He lost track of how many miles they had walk before Chibi-Usa stopped abruptly.

"We're here," she whispered.

Over the next high sand dune, Duo saw it.

A black tower loomed.


End file.
